The Arrogance of Power--GOP Style

You have probably heard by now that the bankruptcy bill, which benefits businesses at the expense of the people, has been passed. As appalling as this new bill is, considering it provides predatory lenders with the motivation to go out and try and take advantage of more Americans, the process in how this bill was passed through the house is even more absurd. Rather, I should say the lack of process.

From the Carpetbagger Report, word today that Tom DeLay and other Republicans within the House "limited the debate to just two hours and didn't even allow congressional Dems to offer an amendment to the legislation."

Carpetbagger reports "What kind of amendments are we talking about here? Pretty straightforward stuff: proposed provisions included expanded disclosure from credit card companies, limits on lender fees, identity-theft protections, and leniency for military personnel returning from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's not just that Republicans were opposed to these consumer protections — though they were — it's that the GOP wouldn't even let Dems bring these amendments to the floor for consideration."

These actions by the House GOP are nothing short of arrogant, and although this happened in the house, I it makes a stronger case for keeping the minority filibuster in the senate. If Frist and the GOP are able to eliminate the filibuster get ready to see more laws passed and more judges appointed that will cater to the GOP Agenda: The Right and Big Business. Meanwhile, the rest of us will continue to unimportant to the GOP until election time comes around and they throw us a bone in the hopes of winning some votes. Regardless of any last minute offering from the GOP, let us not forget things like the passage of the bankruptcy bill, and the means in which it was done, because it truly shows that Republicans care more about helping Big Business then they do about helping the American People.

Ryan Oddey
Ryan@TAFMess.com